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A society that refuses to strive for superfluities is likely to end up lacking in necessities.
A society that refuses to strive for superfluities is likely to end up lacking in necessities.
Philosophy consists very largely of one philosopher arguing that all other philosophers are jackasses. He usually proves it, and I read more
Philosophy consists very largely of one philosopher arguing that all other philosophers are jackasses. He usually proves it, and I should add that he also usually proves that he is one himself.
The avowed aim of all utopian movements is to put an end to history and to establish a final and read more
The avowed aim of all utopian movements is to put an end to history and to establish a final and permanent calm.
Civilized man has always had a great inclination to read his conceptions and feelings into the mind of primitive man; read more
Civilized man has always had a great inclination to read his conceptions and feelings into the mind of primitive man; but he has only a limited capacity for understanding the latter's undeveloped mental life and for interpreting, as it were, his nature.
Do not waste your time on Social Questions. What is the matter with the poor is Poverty; what is the read more
Do not waste your time on Social Questions. What is the matter with the poor is Poverty; what is the matter with the rich is Uselessness.
Custom, that unwritten law, By which the people keep even kings in awe.
Custom, that unwritten law, By which the people keep even kings in awe.
The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
Never soar aloft on an enemy's pinions.
Never soar aloft on an enemy's pinions.
Cultures contain many cues and inducements to dissuade the individual from approaching ultimate limits, in much the same way that read more
Cultures contain many cues and inducements to dissuade the individual from approaching ultimate limits, in much the same way that a special warning strip of land around the edge of a baseball field lets a player know that he is about to run into a concrete wall when he is preoccupied with catching the ball. The wider that strip of land and the more sensitive the player is to the changing composition of the ground under his feet as he pursues the ball, the more effective the warning. Romanticizing or lionizing as "individualistic" those people who disregard social cues and inducements increases the danger of head-on collisions with inherent social limits. Decrying various forms of social disapproval is in effect narrowing the warning strip.
